The one and only free public forum for Bohras. The focus of this forum is the reform movement, the Dawoodi Bohra faith and, of course, the corrupt priesthood. But the discussion is in no way restricted to the Bohras alone.

Messengers have to respond with harsh words to make people understand the reason and to save them from the devil's ill intensions . They have to be tough.

Really Hello52
If the Messenger has to respond with harsh words then why do Aaamils keep on talking about Rasullah's kindness on the woman who used to throw garbage on him daily and when one day she did not throw, he went to visit her and help her recover from her illness.
I SUPPOSE YOUR LEADER IS FOLLOWING HITLER TYPE OF LEADERSHIP WHO RESPONDED WITH HARSH WORDS AND ACTION--SO SAD

It is a practise done in secret, so of course the ministry will not have official data. That took them 6 months? And what is there to doubt this. The leader (MS) said openly that it should be done, in secret for women, and openly for men. So what is there to doubt?

"December 28, 2017 will be written in letters of gold in the history of the fight for Muslim women's rights and equality. Parliament has not only made triple talaq illegal but also added sections on criminal charges, so that women will be freed from the curse of verbal divorce," Shah said.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad: To move the country forward, for our daughters, for the sisters of our Muslim community, for equality, gender justice, gender equality, gender dignity ........ " see the link below

Since the court had earlier dismissed the issue saying there was no evidence or data about the extent of FGM being an issue, now there is direct data that shows that the vast majority of the bohra female population has been subjected to some form of FGM. If the court has really become a puppet of the government as has become evident, will be proved if they dismiss this data as being 'conducted by biased sources' and ask for it to be conducted by an agency of their choosing, further seeking to delay the process.

75% of all daughters of the study sample were subjected to FGM/C, which means it continues to be practiced on little girls.

97% of women who remembered their FGM/C experience from childhood recalled it as painful. While most women said they suffered immediate pain from the procedure only 2 women said they did not have any immediate or long-term impact from FGM/C.

Despite sex being a taboo topic, approximately 33% of women subjected to FGM/C in the study believe it has negatively impacted their sexual life. Low sex drive, inability to feel sexual pleasure, difficulty trusting sexual partners, and over sensitivity in the clitoral area were some of the problems identified by several women.

Close to 10% of the women who had undergone the procedure in the current study specifically mentioned urinary problems, recurring UTIs, burning and incontinence. In addition, one of the study participants reported bleeding of the clitoral hood area due to irritation.

Many respondents in the study reported feeling fear, anxiety, shame, anger, depression, low-self-esteem, and/or betrayal of trust as some of the fallouts that they associated with their FGM/C.

When Tasneem was a little girl — either 6 or 7, as far as she can remember — she was taken to the home of a woman she didn’t know, along with three other girls her age. They had been told they were going to a party.

The little girls sat waiting as, one by one, they were brought into a separate room to be cut.

“I just remember that each girl went into the room and it was so scary,” Tasneem told Global Citizen. “The actual process I don’t remember, maybe I’ve blocked it off or something, but I do remember going there with these friends and that happening.”

Tasneem is now a 55-year-old woman from Canada’s reformist/progressive Dawoodi Bohra community and a member of the Association of Progressive Dawoodi Bohra of Ontario (APDBO). She agreed to speak with Global Citizen, along with fellow member Zainub and Tasneem’s niece Khadija, under the condition of anonymity, about their experiences with cutting. Their names have been changed to protect their identities.

hen, in a ritual of ‘chooral muriyal’, a thin golden coil is inserted through one end of the boy’s waist, just beneath the surface, and taken out through the other end and tied around his neck. The boys are then taken in a procession from the homes with the accompaniment of drums and colourful umbrellas to the temple. The children then dance in front of the deity post which the golden coil is taken out and offered to the goddess. This marks the end of the ‘kuttiyattam’ ceremony.

This year, a total of 24 boys from 12 households are set to participate in the ceremony on which a ban of the Kerala High Court remains in place. Earlier this week, a division bench of the High Court dismissed a petition by the organisation representing the temple which sought the ban to be overturned.

“The ban is still in place. The court said that children below 18 years shouldn’t be hurt physically or mentally for such ceremonies,” said AK Rajasree, an advocate who was the complainant in the case for the Kerala State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights.
.......

“It’s a symbolic ceremony. Besides, permission is taken before-hand from the children’s parents. The kids won’t feel any pain. I did it when I was 10 and I didn’t feel anything,” said Gopalakrishna Pillai, a kuttiyattam asaan (teacher).

My comment: Sounds familiar .. symbolic ceremony

An online petition, floated by NGO Protsahan, on change.org against the conduct of the ceremony, is garnering signatures.

“It is a blatant case of child trafficking and abuse. This is happening at a point when India aspires to be a world power and its children are abused in the name of religion. Something like this cannot go unchecked,” said Jaswinder Singh, the head of communications, at Protsahan.

My comment: Again, similar to the sahiyo petition .....

Singh said that the petition will be forwarded to Maneka Gandhi, the union minister for women and child development, and government authorities in Kerala when it garners enough support.

India is becoming a hub for female genital mutilation (FGM) and cutting (C) for Bohra expats and foreign women, according to a report that was released by Indian Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor on Feb. 5. The report, titled “The Clitoral Hood a Contested Site: Khafd or Female Genital mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) in India,” states that presence of laws against FGM and cutting in Australia, the United States and Canada, and a lack of them in India, is contributing to the arrival of Bohra expats and foreign women to the country for the procedure.

Does anybody have more information on this. The weird part is this statement in there
---------------------------------------------
March 8 was also International Women’s Day and it was fitting that the consul generals of India and Pakistan both lauded the efforts of His Holinesses for the betterment of their communities. The Indian Consul General Mrs Neeta Bhushan mentioned in particular that Maula was the first to take up the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As the keynote speaker, Consul General Bhushan, a career diplomat who has been stationed in many countries including Bangladesh and Dubai, spoke about the enormous achievements of women worldwide in fields such as medicine and business to becoming astronauts and Olympic athletes.

The Consul General of Pakistan Mr. Faisal Niaz Tirmizi expressed happiness that Syedna had chosen Karachi as the venue for the observance of Ashara last year and hoped that Maula would once again grace Karachi for next during next Ashara.

The event was also attended by the Counsul General of Egypt Mohamed Aboueldahab, who rearranged his plans to attend the event, the mayors of Oakbrook-Gopal Lalmalani, Willowbrook-Frank Trilla, Darien-Kathy Weaver, and Burr Ridge-Mickey Straub, along with officials from the CIA, FBI, and US Attorney’s office in Chicago. Members of the Customs and Border Protection, the Tri-State Fire Department, and the Naperville Police Department, as well as religious and community leaders were also present.

The Mayor of Burr Ridge Mickey Straub wrote the following in his Friday Wrap email to the Burr Ridge community. His words reflect the sentiments of many of the government officials and community leaders who attended the event:

“It was quite amazing to learn how many dignitaries converged upon our area for what I thought was going to be a local, religious event. As I drove up and walked in, I quickly learned that a couple hundred people from Burr Ridge, across the area, and even from Washington D.C., came to participate in the Dawoodi Bohra Community of Chicago Celebration and International Women’s Day event.

It was held at their mosque along Kingery Highway in unincorporated Dupage County and attended by several priests, pastors and religious leaders from the area. In addition to Congressman Peter Roskam (one of the main speakers) it was also attended by officials from the FBI, CIA, several local mayors including Frank Trilla (Willowbrook), Kathy Weaver (Darien) and Gopal Lalmalani (Oak Brook) and members of Tri-State Fire and the Naperville Police Department.
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I understand politicians attend such gatherings in their constituency, but I did not know that in the US FBI, CIA also attend as a courtesy religious functions. Sounds weird. I did not think CBI or IB attends religious gatherings in India

This get-together took place in the mosque of a relatively liberal muslim group ( which is a good thing and it should be encouraged); but the irony is that they had this gathering on the international women's day and praised a religious leader who suggests practicing fgm/c. Sad think to do on the International Day of Women, especially by the Indian Counsel general, and a women at that.

Ha ha ha ha ha. What a joke and what a dhongi baba this Muffy is. The guy who sat on the takhat at one point and repeatedly asked about girls “Su zaroorat che University ma mokalvaani?” And insisted that girls only study home science, and who insists that little girls genitalia be cut; is promoting the beti bachao beti padhao program?!! I think maybe he thought it was the “beti ko ghar me rakho, sirf home science padhao” program

Ha ha ha ha ha. What a joke and what a dhongi baba this Muffy is. The guy who sat on the takhat at one point and repeatedly asked about girls “Su zaroorat che University ma mokalvaani?” And insisted that girls only study home science, and who insists that little girls genitalia be cut; is promoting the beti bachao beti padhao program?!! I think maybe he thought it was the “beti ko ghar me rakho, sirf home science padhao” program

He may be a dhongi, but I am still amazed that so many folks attended an event of a community that is in the news for fgm in near-by Detroit. That surprises me.

And that MS BS says stern things against women; and so many politicians attend on the international women's day? Frankly, how did they pull it off?

I wonder if the anti-fgm activists can contact these dignitaries/officials and mention to them that some folks (not all) in this community practise fgm/c, and why did they attend such an event so uncritically? To attend this event on the international women's day is a slap in the face to women and small girls.

Can anybody from Chicago area can throw some more light on this event?

Hello DCP
Having an inter-faith gathering and inviting all these people is NO big deal. After 9/11, Justice Department has created a Community Outreach division where members from FBI, Homeland Security, US Attorney's office. ICE are required to attend such gathering and reach out to minority community.
Now many asked why they would attend such events if there are ongoing cases, FBI and other law enforcement agencies have different divisions and they do their job independently. A great example of such is FBI will not deal directly with CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relation) and will not invite them but US Attorney have no issue meeting with CAIR officials and they were even invited to White House Ramadan Iftar

Hello DCP
Having an inter-faith gathering and inviting all these people is NO big deal. After 9/11, Justice Department has created a Community Outreach division where members from FBI, Homeland Security, US Attorney's office. ICE are required to attend such gathering and reach out to minority community.
Now many asked why they would attend such events if there are ongoing cases, FBI and other law enforcement agencies have different divisions and they do their job independently. A great example of such is FBI will not deal directly with CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relation) and will not invite them but US Attorney have no issue meeting with CAIR officials and they were even invited to White House Ramadan Iftar

The only thing which is hyped is CIA. CIA is a secretive organization who works outside USA and no one will ever tell you that they work for CIA as CIA has many covers.
By law CIA is not allowed to spy on US Citizens and work inside USA.

good to hear that, but what exactly does that mean? One of the article above says "The Central government on Friday told the Supreme Court that the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is a "crime under existing laws"."

My question: Okay, so what changes? You were not doing anything before, are you planning to do anything now?

Further, it says .....
"The plea sought framing of guidelines to deal with the situation till Parliament enacts a law to curb the practice being followed by some sects of a community."

Well, if it is a crime, why do you need new laws? Just take action under existing laws. Take action against a few people, tell the religious leaders with whom you are buddies to stop, and that will be the end of it ...

Hence I wonder whether the govt. has any interest in taking any REAL action.

Also, I wonder if this is in any way related to the recent events in India. The Asifa Banu case in J&K and the case in UP, Surat, etc. Specially, the Asifa case. This may be a way for the Indian got. to say: Look, we are protecting young muslim girls. It act as good PR. Sorry for being cynical, but one should watch if they actually do anything and follow-up with any action.

Respect and salute to the real reformists fighting to save our own girls from this institutionalised sex crime who through ups and downs of political obstacles and chronism have reached this milestones.

In times when we thought this was an impossible task these lady angels have revived hope.

Your young "Bhai" OzD is proud and with tears of joy!

What changes now...The law when enacted will be clearer and police will be obligated to enforce. At moment it's is ambiguous.

Dont fly too high. My Maula will come to Australia and USA with a red carpet welcome - and leaders going out of their way to greet him and welcome him. Pretty sure you will be go back and hide under the rock.